Dizzy when laughing or getting too excited

[damianjmcgrath]

Does anyone else get dizzy or light headed when laughing too much or getting a bit excited/apprehensive such as when watching the last 10 mins of football or a scary bit of a film?

The laughter thing in particular is concerning and annoying. I'm guessing it has something to do with breathing wrong while laughing but it's a relatively new symptom.

Dr Google suggested it could be atrial fibrillation which doesn't sound good. I've had multiple ECGs in the last two years and an echo and all was fine but perhaps atrial fibrillation comes and goes. Is that possible?

When I get dizzy, I often get pains in my left side, sort of under my armpit, sort of side rib area.

Does anyone else get this and is it something else for me to put under the anxiety umbrella?

[countrygirl]

I have always had to be careful not to laugh too hard as I go very very faint, its something to do with irritation of the vagus nerve which controls blood pressure. I asked my dr many years about this and he explained it. Same thing happens if you cough too much or too hard, same mechanism.

Some peoples vagus nerve is alot more sensitive than others, if you suffer from ectopic heartbeats this signifies a very sensitive vagus nerve so you are more likely to get the other issues associated with this as well. Which is me!

Its nothing nasty just annoying.

[damianjmcgrath]

Damn me. I've made the mistake of looking up atrial fibrillation tonight and obviously it completely sounds like me. I'm not very good at taking my own pulse, can never seem to find it, but I am aware of my heart beats and it seems to beat louder sometimes. I can't tell if it's in an irregular rhythm but I have the other symptoms of dizziness.

Tonight has been really frustrating for me. I've actually felt better than I have for weeks, I exercised, I've done a few things around the house. Then I started laughing at a tv show, got a bit dizzy and felt weird, like too much excitement or laughter made me feel shaky and jittery, got a chest ache, looked up atrial fibrillation, convinced myself I had it and that's where I am now, feeling rubbish!

I'm just stuck in my old problem. It's possible that my tests have missed something because I had no symptoms. I get symptoms even when I'm not anxious. This being a real problem would make much more sense than it being anxiety. Anxiety management techniques haven't worked. So I assume it's a real problem and get myself worked up!

[Lifelonganxiety!]

It is possible for Afib to come and go, but considering you've had multiple EKGs AND an Echo makes it unlikely. If you want to know for sure, get a 24 hour holter monitor if you can, they'll pick up changes throughout the day (speak to dr.)

But more likely, laughing hard or getting too excited often causes dizziness. It's more to do with your breathing patterns than anything else and isn't anything to worry about at all.

[Fishmanpa]

Damian,

I've seen you post saying you have symptoms even when you're not anxious. I contend that your body is in a constant state of stress and anxiety. Anxiety doesn't just turn off like a light switch. It's more like a campfire. While the fire may not be burning hot, there are still some really hot coals buried under the ash of what seems to be a non-anxious moment. All it takes is something flammable (like a Google search or reading something on the forums) and poof... you're back in an anxiety spiral. It takes a long time for the flames of anxiety to totally go out.

Positive thoughts

[rsanchez]

I get the dizziness laughing too. Even talking for a long time can make me dizzy. I've had ekg, echo, and Holter monitor too, no a-fib or other heart problems.

[damianjmcgrath]

Thank you fishmanpa. Never thought of it like that. Last night I was looking up atrial fibrillation and even went on an official looking afib website and read people's stories looking for similarities to me. It's like a puzzle I need to figure out. When I went to bed, I was very panicky and kept getting hot flushes. I woke up at 4am and felt on edge or tingly or jittery. Can't think how to explain it very well. I just couldn't relax. The tingles or trembles felt like it was confirming to me that my heart must be beating strangely or vibrating inside. I put my head on my chest but the rhythm seemed to be ok.

Reading your post made sense. I'm my own worst enemy and there's clearly a few percent of my brain that is still concerned about the heart problem. But I guess all the signs point to anxiety.